Kou Akatsubaki Wants to Confess
by EdgeColumbus
Summary: Kou Akatsubaki has served Kaguya Shinomiya and put up with Ai Hayasaka for most of his life. He couldn't imagine his life without them even if he stated otherwise. Because of this, he constantly gets dragged into his boss's plans to make a certain Student Council President confess. Even with all the plans and his regular work, Kou himself has found a person he wants to confess to.
1. Chapter 1

**Woohoo, I started and finished a chapter in one day. This almost never happens.**

**I will be doing this fic based off of the manga, starting from volume 2. I will also be moving some events from volume 1 so I can include them. There's also original content focused on my OC since this is from his perspective, even if I write in third person.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 1: ID's, Letters and Dates

Type, send e-mail, type, send e-mail, answer phone call, end phone call, check security footage, type, send e-mail and finish.

Leaning back in his chair, a boy let out a sigh as he had finished his morning duties. Well, most of them. He still had to bring breakfast to the Young Miss, which he got up to go about doing as soon as he remembered. Getting the pushcart with the Young Miss' breakfast and morning tea on it from the kitchen, the boy headed for her room. Knocking on the door to the Young Miss' room, the boy waited for it to be opened by the same maid as always. Nodding in greeting to the maid, which she didn't even respond to, the boy pushed the cart into the room and in front of the king sized canopy bed.

"Your breakfast has arrived, Lady Kaguya." The boy announced with a bow.

"Thank you Akatsubaki." Kaguya nodded to the boy. "As punctual as always." She added after checking the time.

"He fears he'll lose his job otherwise." The maid deadpanned in her usual emotionless tone.

The boy wanted to deny this fact, but he couldn't. For Kou Akatsubaki, who had earned his role as attendant and bodyguard to Lady Kaguya Shinomiya, demotion or being laid off was a very real and scary possibility, one he would rather avoid if at all possible.

"I won't deny that Hayasaka, but I also try to remain punctual for Lady Kaguya's sake as well. It would be unbecoming of the Vice-President of the Student Council to be late." Kou explained to his co-worker as he set Kaguya's breakfast in front of her.

If anyone asked he would admit that Ai Hayasaka was the bane of his existence.

"You two get along as usual." Kaguya giggled before she began her breakfast.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" The maid and butler asked in unison, neither of them looking too pleased at the suggestion that they were on good terms.

Which isn't to say they weren't. Kou and Ai were friends, that was inevitable after both of them grew up looking after Kaguya, they just refused to admit it, which amused the Young Miss to no end.

"Anyway, I should ensure that everything is ready for your departure to school, Lady Kaguya. If you'll excuse me." Kou bowed again before taking his leave.

Making his way to the entrance hall, Kou headed out the large double doors that led to the outside world and headed over to the limousine parked in front of the manor. Checking in with the driver to ensure that everything was ready, Kou entered the back of the limousine and waited for Kaguya to arrive so they could leave for school. The boy took out his phone, his dark brown hair that stopped just past his shoulder blades and grey eyes reflecting back on the black screen, he unlocked it and looked through the morning news. There was nothing of note so he plugged in his earbuds, though he only used the right one, and started watching videos.

It wasn't long before Kaguya entered the limousine and their journey to school began. Kou put his phone away and waited for the silent journey to pass by, Kaguya was too busy watching the world outside the window to make conversation and Kou had nothing he wanted to discuss.

* * *

The limousine stopped in front of Shuchiin Academy. Kou opened the door and stepped out; he quickly surveyed the area before moving out of the way for Kaguya.

"Is it truly necessary for you to do that every day?" Kaguya asked her attendant.

"Yes, it is. I may be one of your attendants, but I am also your bodyguard. That means I must keep watch for any potential threats to your wellbeing." Kou explained in a serious tone, he always took his job seriously and not just because he was afraid of losing it. He had naturally grown close to his charge having grown up with her, so he also wanted to keep her safe simply because he cared about her.

As the pair made their way onto the school grounds and into the building to head for class they gave their morning greetings to a few of the students.

Once they reached the classroom they used for homeroom, Kou wasn't surprised in the least to find Ai already there chatting away with her friends. Kaguya had made it clear that she didn't want a certain person to find out about Ai's connection to her, so the two never spoke at school unless absolutely necessary. Kou on the other hand only spoke to Ai on occasion at school, he always wondered how she could go from showing so little emotion at home to being the bubbly cheerful person she is at school. It would definitely make his life easier if she picked one and stuck with it.

Taking a seat at his desk, which was conveniently next to Kaguya's, Kou took out his phone and messed about with it until the teacher arrived.

* * *

The Student Council room. Originally, Kaguya forbade either of her attendants from entering the room since she didn't want a certain person to know about either of them, Kou disobeyed that order and joined the Student Council as a volunteer. When he was asked by the President why he wanted to volunteer, he explained that it was due to fact that he was Kaguya's bodyguard and it was for the best if she was in his sight as much as possible.

Speaking of the President, one Miyuki Shirogane, he was the certain person that wasn't supposed to find out about either of the attendants. He still didn't know about Ai, so Kaguya had at least one agent to use on him if need be.

"Here you go Kou." A cheerful voice said as its owner placed a cup of coffee in front of the boy.

"Thank you Chika." Kou thanked without even looking at the girl, he was busy going over some of the documents that had been submitted to the Student Council. Verifying them to make sure there were no errors that needed to be revised.

Giving a quick glance to the retreating girl, Kou sighed. Chika Fujiwara was a handful at best and an absolute menace at worst. If she hadn't been Kaguya's only non-attendant friend he wouldn't have put up with her. Is what he would say if he hadn't grown fond of the girl himself. He hadn't wanted to, but somewhere down the line he had found himself considering Chika as a good friend.

"And here's yours Shiro-" Chika cut herself off when she noticed something the President was holding. "Shirogane! Is that... You finally bought a smartphone!" The bow wearing girl exclaimed.

'There's no way the President bought a-' Kou cut his own thought off as he looked over to the President, who was in fact holding up a smartphone. "Holy...! You really did get one!" Even Kou couldn't hide his surprise that the President, who had been so against buying a smartphone whenever the topic was brought up, had finally caved and joined the current generation.

"Welcome to the modern era." Chika welcomed with tears in her eyes.

"Don't treat like some caveman!" Miyuki retorted. "Look I even installed Line." He said as he showed off the app to Chika and Kou.

"Yay! We should exchange Line ID's. Here's mine!" Chika suggested enthusiastically as she took out her phone.

"Here's mine as well." Kou offered as he showed the President his Line ID as well. "And here I thought you would be antediluvian for the rest of your life." He joked as he registered the President's Line ID.

"There was a store that had a sizable discount on phone plans, so I took it as a sign to finally purchase a smartphone." Miyuki explained, Kou just smiled and nodded in understanding.

This was all an act on Kou's part, he already knew the President had bought a smartphone since he was part of the reason for the price drop. The Shinomiya group owned the store that the President bought his phone from. Kou had set the discounted price and Ai and few other staff members were on the scene at the same time as the President to convince his subconscious to give in and buy a smartphone and install Line. This was all part of a plan Kaguya had come up with to get Miyuki to ask for her Line ID.

Neither Kou nor Ai could bring themselves to tell their boss that her flip phone couldn't use Line and that this was all pointless.

As were, in their opinion, most of Kaguya's plans that involved the President. She wanted to get the President to confess to her, despite the fact that she would vehemently disregard the notion that she liked him romantically. What made matters worse was that Kou knew for a fact, simply because he asked, that Miyuki wanted Kaguya confess to him, though he actually admitted to liking Kaguya. He was just too intimidated by her wealth and talent to be able to confess himself.

And thus came to exist the war between the Student Council's President and Vice-President.

Kou felt he deserved a raise for what he had to put up with because of this.

"Is that your profile pic?" Chika asked the President, causing Kou to immediately look at his phone. The boy almost burst out laughing at what he saw.

"Yep. It's a photo of me as a kid." Miyuki confirmed with a nod. "Akatsubaki, could you please stop laughing?" He requested once he noticed Kou was snickering behind his hand.

"Sorry, but this is... Pfft, this is too funny!" Kou couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing, rolling on the floor as he did so.

"It's so cute!" Chika squealed in delight as she admired the picture. "Your eyes were just as intense as they are now." She commented, which earned another burst of laughter from Kou.

"Please don't mention that. I've got a thing about my eyes." Miyuki sighed dejectedly. "Anyway, this picture is a bit awkward..." The president looked to the still laughing Kou as he said that. "... I think I'll change it soon." He added as he snuck a glance at Kaguya.

With his laughter finally stopping, Kou stood up and looked over to his boss. She was definitely thinking of a way to see the picture without asking for the President's Line ID. Kou thought about just showing her the picture, but knew all too well that Kaguya would consider that as letting Miyuki win since it implies that she wanted his Line ID or whatever other reason she would throw at her attendant. Then Kou noticed Kaguya reach into her pocket and he immediately knew what was coming.

Chika and Miyuki were busy chatting away about Line until they heard someone sniffling; looking in the direction of the noise they found Kaguya with tears in her eyes. Kou repressed the urge to sigh at what he knew were crocodile tears, Kaguya had used this guilt trick on him in the past.

"You're so cruel, Shirogane..." Kaguya sniffled as she wiped one of the tears away. "So cruel." The devious Vice-President repeated. "How could you do such a thing?" She asked as she continued sniffling.

"I'm sorry! We didn't mean to exclude you!" Miyuki apologised as he got up from his desk and approached Kaguya. "Uh... Here! Here's the picture. So please cheer up." The President begged as he showed the picture to the 'crying' girl. The look on his face just after he did so showed that he realised he had been tricked as Kaguya ingrained the picture in her mind.

Kou looked towards the ceiling and prayed that he could have one day where something like this doesn't happen. He knew it sounded too good to be true, but he could hope.

"Oh! I just realised!" Chika exclaimed. "Kaguya has a flip phone so she can't use Line; we've been really inconsiderate talking about it in front of her." The Secretary explained, much to a certain attendant's dismay.

Kou had made it around the side of the room and to the door before he felt Kaguya's infamous death stare on him, he daren't turn around lest he receive capital punishment. So he did the only thing he could do in that situation.

Run away.

* * *

So running had about the same effect it always did. Which is to say that Kou got punished as soon as they returned home, though his punishment this time was something Kaguya would use in tomorrow's strategy. The boy put his pen down and got up from the desk in his room to stretch. Then there was a knock at the door. Opening it revealed the expressionless face of Kou's 'favourite' co-worker.

"What do you need Hayasaka?" Kou asked with an exhausted sigh, the maid said nothing as she entered the room and picked up the envelope on Kou's desk. She quickly read through the contents before placing the letter in her pocket.

"I was asked to make sure you were finished." Ai explained as she headed back to the door.

"And you couldn't have just asked?" Kou questioned as he blocked the maid from leaving.

"I am to place the letter in Lady Kaguya's shoelocker tomorrow, I thought it would be best to grab it now instead of in the morning." The maid answered in her usual tone. "Aren't I nice, taking your busy morning schedule into consideration. You should thank me." She changed her tone to a more condescending one as she said this, Kou simply stared at her.

"Get out." He ordered as he stepped out of the way. Ai obliged, though she turned to face him once she was out of the room.

"Sweet dreams." She wished with a smile, Kou slammed the door shut.

He hated that smile, no he loathed it. For one reason and one reason only.

'It couldn't be any more fake if you tried.' The teen thought as he leant against the door. He eventually pushed off the door and got ready for bed.

* * *

"A love letter!?" Chika yelled as her eyes darted to the paper in Kaguya's hands.

"The letter doesn't outright ask me to be his girlfriend, it's more of an invitation to a meal." Kaguya corrected as she reread the letter. "It is beautifully written though." She commented with a small smile.

An almost inaudible groan came from a corner of the room. Kou was sitting there with his knees drawn up to his chest and working on the tablet he had brought with him. His punishment the night prior had been to write that letter and hearing a conversation about it was driving him insane.

"Are you okay Akatsubaki?" Miyuki inquired from his desk, a look of concern on his eyes.

"Just fine, Prez. Just fine." Kou lied as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his glare hardening on his tablet.

"So, are you gonna go out with him?" Chika asked excitedly. Both Miyuki and Kou listened to the answer attentively.

"Of course." Kaguya simply replied.

There was a loud snap and an equally as loud thud as the President's pen snapped and the volunteer's head met the wall. Both of them looked as if the world was ending, for different reasons. Miyuki was simply shocked that Kaguya would agree to go on a date with any man other than him. Kou was dreading the idea that Kaguya might make him put on a disguise and actually go out on a date with her.

'I died and went to hell at some point didn't I?' The butler-bodyguard mentally sighed.

"A brilliant, handsome person who knows how to properly convey his feelings." Kaguya stated as she placed her hands over her chest. "This gentleman gathered up all his courage and wrote such a beautifully romantic letter. I'm certain I'll fall for him." She continued with the face of a maiden in love.

Kou had rammed his head against the wall so many times at this point that he had actually left a dent.

"Kaguya, are you really going to go?" Chika questioned, she sounded both sad and concerned.

"But of course. In fact, I'm quite looking forward to it." Kaguya bluffed; at least Kou was hoping she did.

"Shinomiya, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Miyuki said shakily. "As Student Council President, I cannot allow illicit intimate relationships." He explained in an attempt to stop Kaguya from going on the date, Kou shook his head knowing that it wouldn't work and that his fate was sealed.

"'Illicit intimate relationships' is a bit of an overstatement. We're just going out to eat." Kaguya countered gracefully.

"That's up to the teachers to decide. Making calls like that falls under their jurisdiction. Suspension is a very real possibility." Miyuki defended his case. "And if you still insist on going... then I will have to have a conversation with the teachers." He warned as he entwined his hands and rested his head on them.

Kou had to admit, it was brave of the President to risk his pride and become a tattletale.

"I have no objection to that." Kaguya challenged as she stood up. "If this turns out to be true love then I am more than prepared for suspension or even expulsion." She stated, shocking everyone present.

"E-expulsion." Chika worriedly repeated, looking scared for her friend. Even Kou turned around to look at his boss with a worried expression.

She wouldn't really go that far, even if she made him go on a fake date with her to prove it right? But then again this was Kaguya.

"For true love, I am prepared to offer my body and soul." The black haired teen admitted as she clutched her chest.

"That's absurd!" Miyuki exclaimed as slammed his hands down on his desk while standing up.

"It's not absurd!" Kaguya retaliated defensively.

"S-stop messing around! If that's true then... If..." Miyuki stammered as he tried to get the words out. "If I told you I have feelings for you!" He finally managed say, catching Kou and Kaguya off-guard.

'Oh my God, is he actually going to...' Kou thought excitedly, he was really hoping he was right about what was going to happen next.

"...Hypothetically, of course..." The President added.

'COWARD!' Kou screamed internally.

"...Would you forget about him?" Miyuki inquired, looking away out of embarrassment.

"I-it's possible." A flustered Kaguya responded as she looked away, though she did glance over to the President.

"Is your 'true love' really that shallow?" Miyuki questioned mockingly, a smirk appearing on his face as he leaned in front the Vice-President.

Seeing how this would end already, Kou facepalmed and got his bag ready to leave. Though he kept hold of the tablet and was still doing his work on it, not wanting to watch the scene in front of him play out.

"Some other guy starts flirting with you and immediately you forget yourself. There's no way that's true love! I guess your standards aren't that high after all if you'd fall in love with a complete stranger." Miyuki started laughing to keep his act up. "I'm only speaking hypothetically, of course." He added with a wave of his hand as if he was brushing something off.

"I'm done here! Akatsubaki, we're leaving!" Kaguya commanded with an unmistakably annoyed look on her face, Kou joined her at the door when someone put their hand on the Vice-President's shoulder. Kaguya turned around with a surprised look on her face, likely hoping it was the President.

Nope, it was a sobbing Chika.

"I won't let anyone else take you! And I won't let you get expelled!" Chika yelled through her sobs. "I'll confess my feelings! I like you, I like you a lot!" The Secretary confessed as she pressed her face against Kaguya's. "Waaah! Don't ever leave me!" The girl sobbed.

"Enough already!" Kaguya snapped. "I'm staying, so let it go already!" She begged.

Kou let out a small laugh and shook his head as he sat down on one of the sofas in the room.

* * *

Arriving at his destination Kou scanned the area.

'We could have just taken the limo, but no~. 'It has to feel like a real date'' The attendant mentally complained.

His fears had turned out to be spot on, Kaguya was making him go on a 'date' with her. Kou was currently wearing a black and white horizontally striped, long-sleeved t-shirt with an unbuttoned burgundy shirt over it, dark blue jeans and black and white canvas shoes. He had also put on black wig that stopped at his shoulders and would have covered his left eye if he hadn't used a hairclip to hold it back; he was also using blue coloured contact lenses.

"Where is she?" Kou wondered aloud as he continued looking around the area.

"Hey there little lady, how about hanging out with us for a little while?" A rather sleazy voice asked someone, Kou looked over in the direction of the voice to find three guys surrounding a girl. Upon closer inspection, the girl turned out to be Kaguya. Kou groaned as he headed over.

"No thank you. I'm waiting for someone." Kaguya politely declined the invitation, a hint of disgust in her eyes.

"Now, now, don't be like that. We'll have a lot of fun, promise." The same guy tried coerce her, reaching for Kaguya's hand. Kou grabbed man's wrist.

"Whoa now, hitting on a teenager? Aim for someone your age at least." Kou joked condescendingly as he looked the man in the eyes.

"And who are you?" The man asked, his two friends glaring at the boy as he did so.

"I'm the guy that can break your arm in three different places and shove it down your throat. So take my advice and piss off." Kou threatened with an innocent smile.

The older guy wrestled his arm free, clicked his tongue and left with his friends in tow. Kou meanwhile turned to face his headache of a boss, who was simply smiling at him.

"This is why we have the limo." Kou told the girl.

"Oh, don't be like that." Kaguya waved her hand at him. "Besides, you were here to save me." She pointed out.

"Yes, but I was just about to leave to try and find you." The boy countered as he rubbed his temple. "Whatever, I know from experience you won't listen." He sighed as his boss continued smiling at him.

And that was how their 'date' began. If it could have been considered one. While Kou had no qualms doing what Kaguya asked of him, her ordering him to do things when they were supposed to be on a 'date' was more than a tad annoying. They had to go to a specific, pricey cafe and order what Kaguya specified. They had to go to an arcade where Kou had to win a stuffed animal for Kaguya or they wouldn't leave. They had to go for a walk in the park, which wasn't too bad except for the fact that it had been an order that Kou had no say in. Then they had to look through a bookstore and some clothing stores and buy whatever Kaguya wanted, Kou didn't even get to look at anything that he might have been interested in. The real kicker throughout all of this was that all of the expenses came out of Kou's wallet; he was so glad that his wages each month totalled to more than what he had spent on the 'date'.

The two were currently sitting on a bench so they could discuss the 'date' before heading home.

"If this had been a real date I would have left as soon as I saw the prices at that cafe." Kou decided that brutal honesty was the best way to respond to how the 'date' went. "Even if someone wasn't turned off by those prices, the amount of money you made me spend today is ridiculous. Not mention you didn't even consider what I wanted to do, you controlled everything from start to finish." The boy realised by the time he stopped that he was more complaining than anything at this point.

Kou knew he couldn't really fault Kaguya for her expensive tastes and being controlling. She was a Shinomiya, she was raised to act like this from day one. That was probably why they even went on this date in the first place, so the Young Miss could learn what a normal date was like. Even if the end result was something Kou would do his best to forget, at least it was a learning experience for Kaguya.

"If you ever go a real date with someone, Lady Kaguya. Might I suggest letting them plan it and then discuss those plans with them until you have something you'll both enjoy." Kou recommended with a sigh. It would go against what Kaguya believed in, but it would be better than her winding up an old maid.

"I see." Kaguya responded in a depressed tone, a look of genuine sadness in her eyes.

"Though I will admit, the plan you came up with wasn't bad for a first attempt." Kou would at least give her this and seemed to work as she brightened up a bit.

"Thank you, Kou. And thank you for going along with this request of mine." Kaguya thanked the boy with a smile.

"It was my pleasure as always." Kou returned the smile. "Besides, I learnt from this as well. Mostly what not to do, but still I learnt." He joked as he got up and stretched, he offered his hand to the young Shinomiya. "Shall we return home?" He inquired. Kaguya accepted his hand and got up from the bench, she released his hand and stepped in front of her attendant.

"I'm glad you learnt something from this. You can apply that knowledge when you finally ask a certain someone out." Kaguya teased the boy before walking off.

Kou just stood there spluttering as he knew all too well who his boss was referring to, he mentally cursed when he couldn't come up with a response. He caught up with Kaguya and walked with her in silence as he waited for the pink hue on his face to disappear.


	2. Chapter 2

**I finally finished this chapter... yay!**

**On to chapter 3... Why do I do this to myself...**

* * *

Chapter 2: Love Talk, Boxing Rings and Plans

Whilst Chika was preparing coffee for everyone, Kou was busy dusting the Student Council room. Both of them were waiting for the President and Vice-President in silence, which Kou didn't think was possible for Chika. In fact, it wasn't. Chika was talking at him, but Kou had his earbuds in and was listening to his music loud enough that he was certain it was audible throughout the room. Once he was finished dusting though, he had no choice but to turn his music off and converse with the bow wearing girl.

"So?" Chika questioned the boy who gave her a confused look in response.

"So, what?" Kou inquired with no clue as to what Chika could be asking him.

"So, do you want to walk Pesu with me today?" The cheery Secretary asked somewhat huffily.

"Sure. Just let me ask Lady Kaguya when I see her." Kou agreed as he started to put the cleaning supplies away. Once he was done he took a seat on the sofa facing the President's desk and took a sip from the cup of coffee in front of him, it was delicious as always. Thankfully it wasn't the Kopi Luwak stuff she had used the other day. While that coffee was delicious as well, once he heard the name he washed his mouth with soap. For an hour.

It was at this point that the President and Vice-President entered the room. Miyuki immediately headed for his desk and got to work whilst Kaguya sat across from Kou and took a sip from the cup in front of her.

Glancing at something he noticed earlier but disregarded, Kou picked up the magazine that had been left on the table. It was some generic teen love magazine.

"Aren't these kind of things banned on the Academies premises?" Kou asked no one in particular as he flipped through the magazine, one page caught his interest so he read through it properly. After reading a certain passage from the page, he did a spit take into his cup and started coughing.

"What the heck!" Kou yelled at the magazine. "Why would you admit that!?" He questioned the sanity of the people involved with the survey he had just read.

"What's all the fuss about, Akatsubaki?" Kaguya inquired as she took the magazine from her now red-faced attendant and read through the page he was on. "It's a survey... 'When was your first time?'" The Vice-President read aloud. "'In high school' answered thirty four percent of respondents... I see." She finished reading and set the magazine down to go back to her coffee.

"Lies! People can't be doing it that much!" Chika exclaimed with a flustered blush on her face. "I'm sure the number is only that high since they would have asked the type of people who read those kinds of magazines in the first place." She reasoned as she backed up to the President's desk.

"Naturally, it's a sample selection bias. Surely the actual number can't be that high." Miyuki agreed as he and Chika shared an awkward laugh, Kou joined in when he finally calmed down. However, no amount of laughter could suppress the shock from they heard next.

"You think so? In my opinion the percentage seems a little smaller than I'd expect." Kaguya admitted, taking everyone else by surprise. Especially Kou who thought she had no clue about this kind of thing.

"Um... Kaguya, I'm sure the answer is no, but... have you done it?" Chika inquired nervously, she and the two guys all dreading what the answer.

"Yes, quite a while ago with my nephew." Kaguya answered without hesitation.

Chika screamed in surprise, Miyuki looked through the phonebook for something and Kou realised that there was no way Kaguya was talking about the same thing they were.

His head wouldn't be on his shoulders if she were.

"Lady Kaguya... What do you think we're talking about?" Kou inquired carefully, this conversation could end very poorly for him.

"Kissing, of course." Kaguya responded, much to the relief of everyone else. "Why? What have you all been talking about?" Everyone froze, all thinking the same thing.

Who was going to tell her?

Miyuki and Chika looked to Kou who was staring at the coffee table, an incredibly nervous look on his face. That look stayed until he had an epiphany, a divine revelation that only the most faithful could receive.

"I don't get paid enough to answer that."

Miyuki and Chika looked horrified at the betrayal. They stared at each other, having a silent conversation. And before long, Chika steeled herself. As the only other girl in the room, she had a duty to explain everything to Kaguya. At least, that's what she told herself. Chika approached Kaguya from behind and began whispering in her ear.

Sixteen minutes later, Kaguya screamed the following:

"Isn't it illegal to do that before marriage!?"

* * *

"So today was fun." Kou summarised as he walked alongside Chika, who was making sure her dog didn't pull against his leash too much.

"You betrayed us." Chika deadpanned as she looked at the boy with hollow eyes.

"I stand behind what I said." The butler-bodyguard defended himself. "Look, it was either you explain it, or we find out what happens when a teenage boy explains sex to a teenage girl. And I, for one, didn't want to put my life at risk." He added as an explanation.

It wasn't an exaggeration, Kou knew everything that would end with his head detached from his body. The situation from earlier was one of them. And Kou quite liked his head, it was a good head that had served him well so far. Definitely not something he would want to lose.

Chika sighed before changing the subject slightly. "Have you ever kissed anyone?"

Kou almost felt his heart stop for a second. "N-no." He answered as he undid the top button on his shirt, he suddenly felt quite hot.

"Is there anyone you want to kiss?" Apparently Chika felt the need to continue this line of questioning. Kou's mind went blank and he responded automatically.

"There is..." There had been more to the sentence but he didn't want reveal everything. Sadly, the brightness of Chika's face told him he would be subjected to further questioning.

"Who, who!?" The Secretary asked excitedly.

"A person." Kou joked as he tried to think of a way to curb Chika's enthusiasm.

Chika didn't seem to except the answer though. "Have you confessed to them? Or are you planning on confessing to them?"

"...She's a bit hard to read. And she doesn't let people see the real her that easily..." Kou started rambling on about the girl he was thinking about. Everything he said led Chika to one conclusion.

"You really love her don't you?" The question stopped Kou dead in his tracks.

"Yeah, I do." The boy nodded in agreement.

After that, the two spent the rest of the walk making small talk.

* * *

"And this is the last one." Kou grunted as he set down the last cardboard box. Opening it up, he rifled through the accessories and costumes. The drama club really had a wide variety of get-ups. Surely they didn't use all of them.

"Do we really have to cosplay?" Miyuki questioned sceptically.

"Definitely!" Chika exclaimed, right in Kou's ear much to the boy's chagrin. "This isn't any regular sister school visit. They're coming all the way from Paris, we have to show them our excellent hospitality."

"You just want a reason to play with the drama clubs' costumes." Kou guessed, bringing Chika's enthusiasm to a halt. She pouted at him before digging through one of the boxes. Chika pulled something out from the box and placed it on Kou's head before he could see what it was. Before Kou could ask what Chika had placed on his head, he picked up on the restrained laughter coming from the President and Vice-President.

"It looks good on you Akatsubaki." Kaguya managed to regain her composure as she took a picture of her attendant. Showing him the picture, Kaguya noticed Kou's expression go from confused to playful in a split second. The impish grin on his face going all too well with the dark brown fox ears on his head.

"Heheheh. Is this what I really look like to you Chika?" Kou asked teasingly as he placed his thumb to his middle and ring fingers and raised his index and pinky fingers, creating fox heads with his hands. "Kon." He said as his grin grew until it stretched from ear to ear.

Chika burst out laughing, Kaguya took another picture while laughing behind her hand and Miyuki pretended to cough into his fist while snickering. Kou took advantage of the situation to swipe three more sets of ears from the boxes and place them on the other Student Council members heads. Chika got a pair of pink rabbit ears, one of which was flopped downwards, Kaguya got black cat ears and Miyuki got a set of blonde dog ears similar to a golden retriever's.

The three were caught off-guard by the speed at which Kou did this.

"There, now we can all see what we 'truly' look like." Kou smirked playfully.

The Secretary seemed to really enjoy the sight of everyone wearing animal ears, while Kaguya and Miyuki looked... ready to kill each other? Knowing how the two typically react to things, Kou was certain they both thought the other was cute.

Not that they would ever allow themselves to admit it vocally of course.

Then Chika had an idea. "We should take a group picture!"

This did bring a smile to Kou's face. Well, a bigger one than there already was.

Taking out his phone, the volunteer opened the camera app. "Gather up everyone, let's make it one to remember."

Chika was the first to get into frame with Kou, holding onto his shoulders and leaning over him slightly as he knelt down. Miyuki was next and stood so that part of his body was obscured by Chika and Kou. Kaguya was the last one into frame and stood a noticeable margin away from the group, until Kou and Chika pulled her down next to them.

"Smile." Kou prompted. Once everyone was smiling, even if Miyuki and Kaguya looked a little awkward, the teen took the picture. "I might print this out and have it framed." He mused as he stood up and took the fox ears off.

"Right then, back to business everyone." Miyuki ordered with a clap of his hands. No one bothered to mention that he hadn't taken the dog ears off.

* * *

As Kou put his tablet down he let out an exhausted sigh.

"Long day?" An all too familiar voice asked from behind the boy.

Jumping in his chair, Kou turned to find Ai standing directly behind him. Two mugs of, if his sense of smell was working correctly, coffee in her hands. Passing one of the mugs to her co-worker, Ai took a seat on the chair next to Kou and placed her mug on the dining table.

Kou had been working in the dining hall since it was left alone after dinner, which meant it was quiet enough for him to think about things. These things commonly being work and occasionally being something else.

The butler-bodyguard ran a hand through his hair and let out a small huff. "Yeah, had to rack my brain to make some of the decisions." A solemn smile appeared as he looked to the tablet he constantly had to use for work.

Taking a sip from the mug in front of him, Kou briefly pondered why he had to do half of the work he was assigned. He was Kaguya's attendant and bodyguard, not the secretary of the head of the family. Kou still couldn't find an answer as to why he had to make these decisions.

"But it's what I get paid to do, so I can't complain." The teen let out a light laugh as he reminded himself of that.

"You could discuss it with Lady Kaguya." Ai suggested.

Just the thought of going to Kaguya with his problems made Kou laugh. It's not like she's bad at problem solving and she probably would come up with an answer, but Kou refused to talk about it with her. Kaguya had more important matters to deal with than his problems.

Kou took a long sip from his mug as Ai spoke up again. "Or you could talk to me." She offered.

The two attendants stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak. It was Kou who eventually broke the silence.

"I'll do that next time I struggle with something." He told Ai as he stood up, mug in hand and tablet underarm, and left for his room.

* * *

"Ah, right. Lady Kaguya? I'll be busy after school, so I won't be able to attend the Student Council today and Hayasaka will be accompanying you home." Kou informed the Vice-President during their lunch period, Kaguya nodded in understanding and they left it at that.

As he left the school grounds, Kou walked to his destination in silence. He prioritised organising his thoughts instead of distracting himself. He had to sit through a performance review and then go to the local gym for his weekly exercise; Kou was glad that it was his exercise day. He could work out some of the stress that had piled up.

Sitting through the performance review, Kou resisted the urge to fall asleep. It was all the same stuff as usual. He was doing a good job. Had he experienced any problems? He might get a raise if he keeps up this level of work. Once the patronising was over, Kou made his way to the gym.

Once there, the boy changed into his spare clothes and headed for the boxing section of the gym. After warming up, Kou fastened his MMA gloves and approached a free punching bag. The teen walloped the punching bag with a right hook, the chains holding the bag rattled as it swung backwards with considerable force. Kou spent a good chunk of his time beating down on the defenceless piece of equipment, only stopping when the chain snapped and the bag thudded against the ground.

That's when one of the other people in the room approached. A man with a goatee.

"Jeez kid, you've got some power, huh?" The man chuckled as he scratched his chin. "You ever consider going pro?" He asked with an inquisitive look in his eyes, though his whole face contorted in disgust after looking at Kou.

The teen was unfazed by the look. Being the bodyguard of someone from high society such as Kaguya Shinomiya meant that Kou could recognise the subtlest hint of this look, mostly because it could belong to the more unsavoury types of people.

The man's eyes focused on Kou as he asked. "You're one of the Shinomiya's lapdogs aren't you?"

Kou didn't grace the man with a response and started getting ready to leave; he did move the downed punching bag first of course.

"I lost my sponsors 'cause of you!" The man yelled as he shoved the teen backwards.

The brunette cocked his head to the side slightly. "And you're taking that out on me? As you said, I'm just a lapdog; I would have had no part in whatever happened with your sponsors." Kou reasoned with the older man as he tried to go about his business.

The adult had other ideas apparently.

Mainly evident from the fact that he made sure to stay in Kou's sight as he continued to berate the boy, who had ceased listening. He'd dealt with these types before. They get mad, say their piece, and leave thinking they've hurt your feelings. The older man apparently had a lot to say or nothing better to do since he was still prattling on.

By now, Kou himself was getting a bit pissed.

"Alright, what is it gonna take to shut you up!?" Kou snapped at the man, who flinched at the sudden acknowledgement.

The man stayed silent for a few seconds as he thought. Then he looked to the boxing ring in the middle of the room, then to Kou, then back to the ring as a smile crept up on his face. Sighing in resignation, Kou entered the ring and claimed a side.

"I can't wait to crush you." The goatee man sneered as he climbed into the ring. "And if a small 'training accident' happens, well you won't complain, right?" He added, letting his true intentions show.

Kou's only response was to do the 'come at me' gesture and shift into a defensive stance. The grown man snarled and charged, drawing his arm back for a left hook. The smaller fighter stepped into the attack and ducked under it before throwing an uppercut at his opponent, who managed to shift his head so that the boy's fist only just grazed his cheek. Both fighters backed off and assessed the other. Then Kou charged in and drew his arm back for a right hook. Once the man had begun moving to counter, Kou dropped his arm and went for a tackle instead. Bringing the adult down with a thud, the younger fighter slithered around his opponent and pinned him with an armlock. The man struggled, but found more pressure being applied to his arm the more he moved. Kou contemplated giving the man's arm a good pull, but decided against.

Kou released the man's arm and stood up. Looking down at the grown man, he smirked.

"You can't even win against a kid, no wonder your sponsor dropped you." The teen mocked. He placed his foot on the man's shoulder and shifted some of his weight onto it. "Now remember, this could have been a 'training accident'." Kou warned the man before leaving the ring and heading for the showers.

It was right on time for him to leave anyway.

* * *

As Kou entered the foyer of the manor he heard an unmistakable voice yell:

"But I keep waiting and waiting and he still hasn't contacted me! He has no intention of initiating the conversation!"

Dumping his bags at the bottom of the stairs, Kou briskly headed for Kaguya's room. Upon reaching the door, the boy quietly slipped into the room. Kaguya and Ai were mid conversation while the lady of the house read the newspaper and the attendant stood by the bed.

"The average high school students bedtime is between eleven-thirty and twelve. In my case, I'm in bed around ten." Kaguya explained to Ai. "Therefore, it would be inappropriate for Shirogane to text after ten. Surely he will wait until the last minute!" The young lady declared, completely sure of herself.

Kou sighed in amusement at the one flaw in that idea. "Does the president even know your bedtime?" He asked as he made himself known.

The young Shinomiya looked at Kou with a shocked expression, once again she hadn't thought things all the way through. The male attendant stayed silent as Ai swiped Kaguya's phone off of the desk their master was sitting at.

"Shirogane, I look forward to-" Ai spoke as she started typing out a text on Kaguya's phone. Though as soon as she heard the attendant speak, the young lady jumped up and snatched her phone back.

"What are you doing!?" Kaguya screeched.

Seeing as this situation was probably going to end about as well as the battles at school, Kou left the room and meandered back to the foyer. Picking his bags up, the teen headed for his room so he could sort his things out. About halfway through his journey his phone buzzed, pulling the smart device out of his pocket the boy checked the notification.

It was from the Student Council group chat.

Apparently Chika was having some fun with an octopus.

Seeing the message gave Kou an idea.

After reaching his room and sorting his clothes and other effects out, the butler-bodyguard sat on his bed and made a call. Tapping on his bed as the beeping of a call waiting to connect assaulted his ear, Kou mouthed a "yay" to himself once the other end picked up.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar voice greeted the boy.

"Hello. This is Kou Akatsubaki, I called to speak with Miyuki Shirogane. To whom am I currently speaking?" Kou inquired, he knew for a fact that he had called the Student Council President and the voice that had picked up the phone certainly didn't belong to a high schooler.

"This is Miyuki's father." The man on the other side of the call answered.

Kou nodded to himself as he made sure to remember the voice. "Is Miyuki available right now?" The boy asked, using the President's first name felt a little awkward to him but his business mode kept him from stumbling over it.

"I'll call for him right now." Miyuki's father informed the boy. "Miyuki, you're friend is calling you!" The man yelled out.

"What? Big brother has a friend?" A feminine voice teased.

"Shut up! And dad, you can't just answer my phone!" Miyuki scolded his father as the phone was, presumably, handed over to him. "Hello?" The President greeted.

"Heya, Prez!" Kou greeted energetically, he was so going to use what he overheard against blonde.

"Akatsubaki? What do you need?" Miyuki asked he took in a few breaths.

"I heard that you and Lady Kaguya need to make plans for something, so I just wanted to let you know that she's usually in bed by ten. Try to have everything sorted out by then." Kou told his fellow teen.

The sound of water sloshing about had Kou raising a brow, though he assumed the President was probably washing some dishes or something to that effect.

"I see... Thank you for letting me know, I'll call her once I'm out of the bath." Miyuki thanked.

"No prob, I'll let you get back to enjoying your bath time." Kou laughed before hanging up.

Standing up and stretching, Kou headed to the baths to enjoy a good soak of his own. He had taken a quick shower at the gym, but nothing beat a relaxing dip in a wide bath. There was just something about submerging himself up to his neck that washed away all the boy's troubles.

* * *

The next day, it rained.

No, "rained" didn't cover it. Absolutely chucking it down was better, but still didn't quite fit. Apparently whatever otherworldly force that was out there wanted to make sure that Kaguya and Miyuki didn't spend the day together. At the rate the rain was coming down, a person would be able to swim in the streets by midday. Kou briefly pondered if anyone would actually do such a thing, but quickly dismissed the thought. You would have to be either insane or desperate to go out in this weather.

Seemed like it would be a good day for Kou to get some work done at least.

And it was, surprisingly. Kaguya hadn't bothered the boy at all, according to Ai the young Shinomiya was too busy sulking in her room to pester either of her attendants.

* * *

A few days later, the Student Council members were leaning against the walls just outside of a grand hall, all of them were exhausted.

"Thank you for all of your hard work." The Principal thanked the Student Council. "I know we didn't give you much notice, yet you managed to pull all of this off pretty well." The man smiled contentedly, as if he had actually done something to contribute aside from giving everyone a heart attack in the form of a deadline.

"Thank you for the compliment sir, but next time we'll need more than three days' notice." Miyuki warned the man. "It's not my policy to overburden the Student Council officers."

"Haha! I understand! It won't happen again!" The Principal laughed, likely not taking the warning seriously. "Now then, go and enjoy yourselves." The man said as he ushered the Student Council members into the hall.

Kou took this as a chance to do a quick survey of the room. He wandered around, smiling and partaking in conversation as he made sure everything was going smoothly. It wouldn't do if an event that a Shinomiya helped set-up was found lacking, it could be harmful to Kaguya's reputation.

Making his way back to his friends, Kou was approached by Miyuki.

"Akatsubaki..." The President said defeatedly, a look of mild panicked plastered over his face suggested something was off.

"_What is it _Prez?_ Has something gone wrong? I'll fix it right away._" Kou automatically replied in French, which only seemed to worsen the look on Miyuki's face. Without answering the question, the President just walked off. Kou followed the teen with his eyes for a while, until the boy engaged in conversation with a girl from the sister school.

Whilst continuing his rounds, Kou eventually made his way back to Kaguya's side. Though he was confused by the fact that she was currently verbally destroying one of the French students, that confusion turned to shock after he heard some of the words the Young Miss used. Watching on as the verbal assault stopped, Kou followed the French student that slinked off. If she had incurred the wrath of Kaguya Shinomiya, then Kou had a few words to share with the girl.

Catching up to the girl, the boy noticed she was mid-conversation with the Principal. And the dots connected in Kou's head.

"_Mr. Principal... You, me and this girl need to have a conversation outside._" The butler-bodyguard ordered, earning a gulp from his two victims.

* * *

After lecturing the Principal and the French student to the point that Kou himself was sick of his own voice, the boy helped pack everything in the hall away and walked home with Kaguya. Kou had offered to call the limo, but apparently Kaguya wanted to take a night-time stroll for once. The bodyguard obliged, but only on the condition that the young Shinomiya didn't leave his side for even a second during this stroll.

"The stars are out tonight, huh?" Kou said in an attempt to make small talk.

Kaguya hummed in response.

"The event was successful, I think the Prez earned a few brownie points with the Principal." Kou changed the subject, hoping to get a proper response out of Kaguya.

The Young Miss simply hummed in response again, this time wobbling slightly before releasing a short yawn.

Kou smiled at his charge and took her bag so that he could give her a piggyback ride back to the manor.


End file.
